


Sugar and Pumpkin Spice

by literaryempress



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Abandonment, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Future, Autumn, Homelessness, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Oral Sex, Sexual Content, Shower Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 16:37:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5171453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryempress/pseuds/literaryempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ian loves so many things about the fall time, but the one thing that's on his mind is the man at his local Starbucks who doesn't have a coat in handy or people to share the season with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sugar and Pumpkin Spice

Ian loved the fall with a burning passion. Something about the autumn months of the year just seemed…intimate. The colors of the leaves were changing with the tone of the city activity. Pools were being drained, summer resorts were closing down until next year, kids were headed back to school, and the temperature got a few degrees colder. It gave Ian the excuse to whip out some of his favorite sweaters from the back of his closet to wear. Some would find it really cheesy for him to feel this way, but Ian could care less because fall was his favorite season ever.

One of the things Ian especially loved doing in the fall was read a very good book inside one of the nearby Starbucks in town, nursing a pumpkin spice latte in his hands. This was one of the many aesthetics that Ian had gotten used to since he started living on his own. In a weird way, it became his tradition to do this every Saturday morning when the fall officially arrived. So it was no surprise that the barista – Claire was her name – recited Ian’s coffee order when he walked inside the first Saturday of November.

“One pumpkin spice latte?” she asked him before he even had the chance to look up at the board.

The redhead grinned. “I thought I was a little unpredictable there for a minute.”

Claire smiled back. “Don’t worry, hon. I have a pretty good memory. It’s customers like you that will never slip my mind.” They laughed as Ian gave her the money, and Ian waited in line for a moment as she prepared his drink for him.

Ian cast his eyes around the room. Starbucks is normally a comfortably cozy place. It was perfect for everyone and anyone of all ages. Ian noticed a group of five college students studying on the couches. He also saw a couple by the window having a flirtatious yet humorous conversation with each other. Two women were at a table with laptops open, trying to work on some project Ian was unaware of.

Okay, so not everyone in this Starbucks – or any Starbucks, for that matter – had someone to interact with, but Ian did feel a little bit lonely lately. He had gotten himself a little apartment to live in a few years ago, separating himself from the Gallagher household so he could get his life on the right track. Sure, he missed Fiona making food for him and his siblings whenever they woke up, and he missed his older brother, Lip, and all of the adventures they have experienced. Ian wondered if Carl was getting into more shenanigans around the house since that kid never takes a break, for the life of him. He also missed hearing about the charity work, babysitting, and whatever else Debbie was doing. She was very smart at her age, and she still is very smart. Ian saw many good things coming her way. Not to mention his youngest brother, Liam, and his transition from being a toddler to being an intelligent elementary school student.

Ian missed everyone in his family and all of the things that they were up to. He missed being a part of that household, despite the fact that they’re all still family. However, Ian was getting older, and time didn’t stop for anyone. Life was unfortunately too short to be cooped up in a bedroom with three other siblings, reading comic books and limiting the opportunities he could have in the outside world.

That’s why he reads in Starbucks. He doesn’t really have to worry about feeling lonely when he sees all of these characters in his books get involved in different adventures of their own. With this in mind, and a nice, warm pumpkin spice latte in hand, his thoughts about his family back in that old house of theirs didn’t seem to take over his energy or train of thought.

When Claire called him for his pumpkin spice, Ian thanked her with a smile and then headed over to his general reading spot. He liked to read by the window on one of the comfy chairs so he would have the feeling of being at home, but about fifteen percent less lonely with all of the other customers at home. This was his opportunity to listen to the noise outside of the shop – the wind blowing, the cars honking their horns, the people on the sidewalk stepping on orange and brown leaves. Sometimes that only lasted a while before he put his earphones in and played some of his favorite music, but the authenticity of real-life sounds in the fall made his reading time much better.

When Ian got to his spot, though, he had noticed that someone else was sitting there. He wasn’t the grumpy type that typically asked people to move whenever they were in his seat – especially since that no one has assigned seats in a public place like this – but he did notice something off about this guy. He looked like he was freezing his damn skin off. If he had a coat at one point, then Ian wasn’t really sure how he left it behind or lost it. Actually, he didn’t really have much with him. The only thing that made even a little attempt to keep him warm was the sweater he had over it with the zipper. The man in question even tried rubbing his tattooed hands together to get them warm, but of course, he _was_ sitting by the window.

“Can I help you?” The words had some sort of bite to them, and it took Ian back a couple of notches.

Ian gaped at him, trying to form the correct words and not startle him too much. He looked like a complete idiot. Normally, he talked to others like it wasn’t a big deal, but this guy was different. Ian hadn’t seen him around here before, and he looked like he was in need of some help, if he didn’t want to say it aloud. The sweater wasn’t enough to keep him warm, he was cooped up in the seat like it was supposed to be his bed, and he was looking out the window occasionally as if he was expecting something. It actually saddened Ian just knowing those things alone.

The man sighed. “Look, if you’re gonna stand there like you’re the fuckin’ Statue of Liberty or some shit, do it outside. Or anywhere where I can’t see you.” Ian wasn’t sure why this guy was so angry with him. Sure enough, he had to have a reason.

Ian shook his head, freeing himself from his thoughts. “Sorry,” he spoke, running a hand through his face before looking down at the dark-haired man. “I don’t want to interrupt you or anything, but…” He paused to clear his throat. “I was wondering if…you, um –“

“Spit it out, why don’t you.” He was starting to get agitated with Ian’s attempts at making a conversation.

“You just look…cold.” Ian finally stated with a shrug.

The man inched an eyebrow on his forehead. “And that’s your fucking concern why?”  Despite the fact that this guy was clearly being rude to him, he at least had to admit that Ian was right on this one. After all, who walks around in the fall without a coat to keep them from getting sick or anything like that?

Ian decided to drop the conversation for now since irritating the man wouldn’t get the best results. However, a spell of kindness washed over him just looking at him. Did he even have anyone to go home to? Was he lonely? Does he have all the things to accommodate his needs before the winter rolled in? Ian’s a very optimist person, after all, and a person by themselves in a seat of a coffee shop with a scowl on his face wasn’t his cup of tea.

So with the citizenship he had hidden underneath his sleeve, he went back over to the man and held out his pumpkin spice latte. When the man looked up, he had a frown of confusion on his face. Ian just shrugged. “I figured that you needed it more than me.”

The man’s blue eyes fell back onto the window, observing a woman pushing a stroller with her infant daughter inside. “I’m fine.”

“I wasn’t sure if you had any money on you, and I figured that –“

“Don’t figure anything,” the man interrupted him, shooting him a glare as he hugged himself in his seat. “Just leave me alone and forget that we ever met.”

And that was that. Ian didn’t push it anymore, and he went to find himself another seat in the shop, occasionally glancing over at the raven-haired man, who was oblivious to Ian’s heartbroken and worried expression.

* * *

It had been a week since Ian had walked into that Starbucks, primarily because he was too busy with work and the gym. Usually when he’s had a Starbucks drink, he would go a little crazy and burn off the calories he had gained in that one cup. People would have believed that he was paranoid for doing so, but Ian liked his body the way it was, and he wasn’t going to wait around until risks took place.

That next Saturday, Ian started feeling bored, cooped up in his own apartment as an episode of _Modern Family_ played on his television screen. The sun had set around four in the evening that day, like it usually did in the fall. Ian didn’t go out past four or five o’clock in the fall due to his cautious South Side instincts telling him that crime was just around the corner. Chicago was never shy of having more and more shootings erupt through the town.

However, he didn’t go outside all day that day and was craving his pumpkin spice latte. The book he was previously reading had been placed to the side in favor of all of the paperwork he had to take care of at his job, and him being a little lazy and distracted today, he wasn’t really sure if he wanted to catch up on it too much at the moment.

And that’s how the memory of the black-haired man appeared in his mind.

From the way he was dressed the last time Ian saw him, and the way he was trying to warm up and get comfortable in the comfy chair, Ian had this sinking feeling that he would be back there again. If he was correct and that the man was homeless or trying to find his way home, he at least needed a push from someone or something to motivate him. Unfortunately, with Ian’s lacking charisma since he moved out of the house, he wasn’t even sure if the man wanted to speak with him again. Hell, he was the reason why he didn’t go back to that Starbucks earlier today.

But Ian wasn’t the kind of person who would just leave someone to their business, aware that something was clearly wrong with them. The man probably needs help and doesn’t have anyone to help him.

Before Ian knew it, he had slipped his coat on and started to head out to the Starbucks, keeping his eyes and ears open for any possible street danger. He didn’t have a car nor could he afford one since he was paying bills and such for his apartment, which is why he normally took the CTA trains and buses to work. It’s not like rent costs that much where he lives; he just doesn’t earn enough to afford him one right now. Maybe one day, when the economy isn’t too rough on him, or when he catches his big break and becomes very successful in life, he can get himself a little 2014 Ford Edge like he used to see in the commercials.

The Starbucks wasn’t necessarily too far from Ian’s home, but his legs sure did have a little way to take him. Once he got there, he noticed that it was still open but would eventually close in about twenty minutes. So he ordered his pumpkin spice latte for himself and another one for the grumpy stranger in hopes that he’ll at least trust Ian with this offer.

As luck would have it, the man was still in that seat where Ian last saw him. He had on the same clothes from last Saturday – same sweater, same torn-up jeans, same boots. It didn’t seem like he was necessarily homeless for so long, if that was even true; he wasn’t like the bums he was used to seeing in the downtown area. He still managed to clean himself up just a little bit, from what Ian could tell.

“I got you a drink.” Ian didn’t realize how timid he sounded until he replayed his voice in his head. God, was he really that shallow?

“The fuck are you doing back here?” the man groaned, eyeing Ian with some sort of annoyance.

Ian shrugged. “I kinda come here on the weekends.”

The man scoffed. “No kiddin’.”

Something about the man’s laid-back type of style got to Ian, and it made him feel a little comfortable being around him this time around.

Ian placed the drink in front of the man before taking a seat across from him. “I was thinking about you.” It came out of nowhere, and Ian wished so hard he could take it back. Unfortunately, the man already heard his words and was now frowning in Ian’s direction.

“What, are you some kind of stalker now?”

Ian shook his head rapidly. “No, no. That’s not what I meant –“

“Really?” The man’s voice was a little bit louder, and Ian was trying his best to keep him quiet, for there were other customers in the shop wondering what they were talking about. “You say some shit like, I was thinking about you, and then you try and make it look like you weren’t even trying to have your way with me or some shit? The fuck?”

Ian sighed, his eyes falling to his shoes. “It wasn’t supposed to mean…” He did a little gesturing with his hands. “I wasn’t trying to say it…like _that_ , you know?”

“No, I don’t know.”

“Just give me a minute to explain myself here, okay?” When he didn’t a protest or some kind of groan in response, Ian sighed again, running his hands through his red hair before glancing back at the blue-eyed man. Why did he have to choose today, of all days, to act and feel like a complete jackass? “It’s getting colder and stuff outside, and –“

“What’s not new?”

“Can I finish?”

The man rolled his eyes and folded his arms in front of his chest, deadpanning in Ian’s direction.

“I think it kinda sucks just seeing people like you alone around this time, I guess.” Ian finalized his statement with a shrug. “Chicago’s pretty fuckin’ unpredictable when it comes to the weather, and when I first saw you in the shop the other day, I figured that you didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?”

Ian bit his bottom lip as he tried to combine the right words he wanted to say. “Didn’t have anyone.”

The man’s face appeared frozen in time, and Ian was just bracing himself for the next couple of harsh words to come out of the man’s mouth.

“I’m not alone.” He noticed Ian inch an eyebrow on his forehead during the pause. “I still have my sister.”

“Your sister?”

“She swings by and gets me food when I can and cleans me up at the house before…” The man stopped, shutting his eyes and nearly hitting himself upside the head at the realization of what he was about to say.

“Before what?” Ian asked, curious.

A second hasn’t even passed, and already, this guy was scoffing and training his eyes around the shop. “God, I don’t have to spill my personal business and shit out for you. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. We’re not meant to get along.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“The fuck I don’t.”

Ian ran a hand over his face. “If you would just let me help you –“

“I don’t need any fucking help, and even if I did, you won’t be able to help me.”

The redhead was silent for a few moments. He didn’t have the full story on what this man’s real problem was, but if he’s been hanging around this same Starbucks for a while before Ian noticed he was there, then maybe there could still be something Ian could contribute to.

Ian gestured out the window behind the man. “Y-you could crash at my place.”

“Not interested.”

“Don’t you even have a place to live?”

“None of your fucking business.”

“I could get you whatever you need. The couch in the living room pulls out, so you could sleep on it, and I could always go to the store for more groceries and clothes. I could help you, if you’re having trouble. Really.”

The man crossed his arms again, getting restless and wanting to end this conversation. “I get that you’re aiming for your Boy Scout badge here, but like I said, I’m not interested.”

They were both silent. Ian glanced down at the drink in his hand and nodded in defeat before he stood up and headed out of the Starbucks back to his home. A few minutes after Ian had left, the man’s eyes dropped to the abandoned pumpkin spice latte on the little table in front of him, watching as it slowly started to cool from where it was sitting. He never had one of these things before and wasn’t sure if he would even like it or not, but he took the chance and sipped some of the drink out of the cup.

It was better than he expected. For an annoying customer, that man was very generous and maybe had a bit of an idea of what he liked, though he would never admit it to anyone.

* * *

Sunday was much colder than Saturday, but Ian still managed to get out of the house and go for a little jog around the neighborhood. After the dispute with the man from the Starbucks shop, and after drinking his entire pumpkin spice latte while downing a couple of other things he found in his pantry, he decided that he wasn’t going to let any stress get to him anymore. He jogged as far as he could go: past the Starbucks, past a library, past a daycare center – anywhere to clear his brain of his thoughts.

He was done about an hour and a half later, retreating back to his block to take a well-deserved shower. Before he got there, though, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed a familiar dark-haired man waiting by his front door.

“Pumpkin spice, eh?” he asked him, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the door frame. “Tastes premiere as fuck, if you ask me.”

Ian couldn’t even form any words. The man was actually here on his block – and he drank the pumpkin spice latte Ian bought for him. The redhead wasn’t even expecting to see this man again nor expecting him to actually take his drink and compliment on it.

“What are you fuckin’ looking at me for? We walkin' in or what?”

Ian came back to his reality before fishing his jacket pocket for his keys. He opened the door, inviting the man in as they made their way to the second floor. On their way there, the man’s eyes wandered around at the paintings and artwork hanging on the walls and standing on the pedestals. “You livin’ with the rich or somethin’?” he asked, leaning against the wall beside Ian’s door.

Ian smiled as he used a different key to open his apartment door. “Not necessarily,” he explained. “The landlord’s just very generous with me since she knows I’m struggling.”

Out of nowhere, a sense of insecurity fell over Ian as the duo walked inside the small apartment. Was it even clean enough for the man’s liking? Was it too dirty or full of clutter? Should that newspaper from three days ago still sit on the coffee table? And why are the throwpillows placed aimlessly on the couch? Shit, Ian didn’t even make his bed. The man was probably gonna start judging him now.

“So this is it, huh?” the man in question asked as he paced around the room, his eyes falling upon the framed photos of his family beside the bookshelf.

Ian nodded, clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah.”

He earned a nod in respond. “Decent shit.”

It was quiet between them for a moment before Ian stumbled to find the right words to say next. “If you want anything, I could make…something, you know.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

Ian nodded a little nervously. He never had guests over his apartment before, so he wasn’t sure how this would all turn out. “I-I’m gonna, uh…” Ian stuttered, pointing a thumb to his bedroom door. “Take a shower. Be right back.” And with that, Ian was out of there, closing his bedroom door and sighing in relief knowing that he didn’t make too much of an ass out of himself, according to his guest.

He grabbed a fresh pair of boxers, a random gray polo, and some dark jeans, bringing them all into the bathroom with him. When he knew that he had some privacy, Ian took off his exercise clothes and threw them on the closed toilet seat. Once he turned the hot water on, checking the temperature was satisfying enough that it won’t burn or freeze him, he stepped in, closing the shower curtains around him.

The tension in his back was released with the feel of the hot spray. Ian loved hot showers. They made him feel so relaxed, even after he had almost bit off his own hand out there where the stranger was waiting. His skin got extremely wet at the feel of the water droplets, and if he didn’t have a guest, he would probably stay in that shower for another hour or so.

Ian was just getting the shampoo in his hair when he saw the flash movement of the curtain. Ian could have slipped in the tub and busted his knee if it weren’t for the little railing against the shower wall.

“You pack that shit all the time?” the man asked him, licking his lips and grinning at Ian’s exposed dick.

Ian quickly covered his private area with both of his hands. “W-wait, how –“

“Um, I walked.” The man replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Besides, I’m bored.” Ian watched in horror as the man removed his sweater and T-Shirt, releasing the upper half of his body. “I wanna have some fun.”

Ian frowned in confusion. He lost the ability to speak when he watched the man remove his pants and boxers. Skin a little paler than Ian’s was all the redhead could possibly see. This should feel wrong to him, but for some reason, he didn’t find any motive to stop it. The last time Ian had sex was when he was in high school and fucked one guy behind the bleachers during gym class. He wasn’t expecting or hoping for anything else anytime soon – at least until this guy showed up.

The redhead started to mutter something out when the man placed an index finger over his lips, getting into the shower with him and closing the curtain around them. “No one likes wasted hot water, right?” he spoke with some kind of husky tone in his voice that strangely turned Ian on. “You had good shit to offer me; now let’s see what I can offer you.”

Neither one of them spoke. Ian looked like he was about to say something, but it was cut off by the man bringing his lips to Ian’s, and soon enough, they were already in a heated make-out session in Ian’s bathtub, as awkward as that sounded. The shampoo was long out of Ian’s hair as the two continuously touched each other in every place they could reach.

Ian loved this. He had been missing out on this for a long time. It’s kind of funny how he never questioned it all this time. He loved having his lips on another man’s mouth. He loved rubbing his hands all over the shorter man’s body. He loved bringing said hands lower to get a firm grip of the man’s ass, which brought out a hungry groan out of the man’s throat. He loved how the man came down to his knees, careful of the wet floor beneath them as he willingly sucked down Ian’s length. He loved the sensation and the passion that was all rushing through Ian’s body right now.

Ian loved everything, and he never even anticipated it in the first place.

* * *

“How did you know I was gay?” Ian asked him about a couple of hours later. They showered and everything like they had intended to, but the closeness they were experiencing in the shower overtook them and prompted them into a couple rounds of bed sex. Once they were officially done, they shared a post-coital cigarette in Ian’s bed.

“Didn’t.” The raven-haired stranger had told him, taking a drag of the cigarette before handing it back to Ian. “I just wanna know what it feels like.”

Ian frowned. “Know what _what_ feels like?”

“Being gay.” When he noticed that Ian was still a bit confused, the man clarified. “I didn’t get the chance to back at home.” He paused. “Actually, I did before my dad killed the guy that I was bangin’ in my room a few months back.”

Ian looked at him with disbelief. “So you’ve been wandering around for months without a place to live because your dad didn’t like you being gay.”

“Basically.” Ian handed him the cigarette, and the man blew into it. “I only got to go home on days when he wasn’t there so I could get a quick shower or some shit. My sister Mandy would help me with clothes and stuff, but that was only for a little while.”

“What happened after that?”

The man was quiet for a moment, his eyes boring into something in the distance. “Dad found out I was coming back to the house, and he threatened to kill me. He said he don’t take AIDS monkeys under his roof.” There was another pause. “He’s probably drunk off his ass by now, kicking the shit out of her shins or something.”

Ian immediately felt bad for him and his sister. He couldn’t believe they had been living like that for so long. No one deserved that type of treatment upon them, no matter what sexuality they were, and it made Ian sick just thinking about the monster that is terrorizing Mandy right now.

The redhead’s green eyes gazed into the blue ones right next to him. “You guys could crash here, if you want.”

The man laughed. “Yeah, like it’s gonna be easy to move all of our shit to your place.”

“Maybe not, but it’s worth a shot,” Ian suggested. “You guys could have the pull-out couch until we could possibly find something to make you money and keep you busy until you two could afford your own place.”

The man held up a tattooed index finger. “Correction,” he clarified, “Mandy’s sleeping on the pull-out couch, ‘cause fuck everything if I have to let that bitch roll on top of me and crush my damn bones.”

Ian laughed as he watched the man get out of bed before taking a moment to gaze upon his bare body. He didn’t bother to put a towel around his lower half, which was good for Ian since he had the luxury of drooling over the guy’s bare ass. “Besides,” Ian heard him speak seductively, “I wanna know more about what magic tricks your tongue does when we’re under the covers.”

Ian smirked back at him. “You won’t have to wait long until you know that.”

The man smiled, and it had to be one of the most beautiful things Ian has ever seen. “Oh and, heads up,” the man spoke as he walked over to the doorway of Ian’s bedroom, “the name’s Mickey. It’ll give you somethin’ to think about.”  With a wink, Mickey headed back into the living room.

Once Mickey was out of the room, placed the cigarette in the ashtray and dropped his head on the pillow underneath him. _Mickey, huh?_ Ian loved that name.

**Author's Note:**

> There aren't enough autumn/fall fics for my liking.


End file.
